Has Campaign For "A New Dallas" Stalled? Elan City Lights Development Just East of Highway 345 Will Get a Great View of a Crumbling Roadway

It was just three months ago that all anyone in urbanism forums or on staff at city magazines could talk about was this “A New Dallas” campaign to raze Highway 345 that bisects the urban core of Dallas. As the beautifully constructed website said, the 345 was already crumbling, so instead of investing money in rebuilding it, we should tear it down and invest in a slower urban infrastructure.

According to a story from Steve Brown, Greystar envisions a 424-unit luxury apartment building on the site they purchased from Key Bank for $39.43 million, which is actually pretty close to the AMLI development just across the street from the now weed-covered lot that at one time had a very interesting collection of plastic bags and hubcaps adorning its chain-link fence.

I wonder if Greystar would be for the “New Dallas” urbanists fell in love with this summer? I’m betting they would, considering that the prices for these luxury units would be a lot higher if they had views of something other than a highway. Greystar expects to start construction next month on City Lights with the first units hitting the market in fourth quarter 2014.

I live right by the highway here, next door to the new building. We LOVE our view of the highway, and would never want it gone, frankly. It gives a sense of constant movement and life to the city, and it is one of my very favorite parts of living in the center of a great urban location like Dallas.

The road already recieved dedicated funding for major improvements structurally and aesthetically, I believe. So why is the Tear-It-Down crowd so adamant about this? I love having people come in the southern way and see the city driving on the highway. It needs repair, but it is a beautiful approach to the city, and one of the coolest things I could ever hope for in my view, almost exactly that same view the future residents at Elan City Lights will enjoy. If you dont’ want to have that view, I can suggest a thousand other places without it, so why worry about stopping we who do enjoy it from having ours too?

Thanks, and please… do NOT tear it down! Make it cooler! Let great artists pain the entire elevated roadway from the south of Deep Ellum all the way to where the Arts District meets 75 on the north.